A solid, well-designed mouse with an excellent implementation of a sniper button.
A solid, well-designed mouse with an excellent implementation of a sniper button.
RAZER BASILISK
What makes a good FPS mouse? That probably depends on who you ask, but a reliable optical sensor and light weight would probably show up at the top of most people’s lists. Either way, Razer thinks it’s settled on the right formula with the Basilisk, its first mouse designed specifically for FPS gamers.
The Basilisk is outfitted with the excellent 16,000DPI PixArt PMW3389 optical sensor. Razer calls this its 5G optical sensor, and it’s based on the popular PixArt PMW3360 sensor. A version of this sensor, the PMW3366, is also found in Logitech mice like the G Pro and G903, both of which I’ve had great experiences with.
The PMW3389 has no inherent acceleration, jitter, or prediction algorithms, so it works great for FPS games where pinpoint accuracy is a must. It handled quick flicks well, and I was never able to make the mouse “spin out”, which is what happens when the sensor loses track of where you’re pointing at.
You can tweak the sensitivity in 50DPI increments in Razer’s new Synapse 3 software, and the mouse supports up to five sensitivity stages. There’s onboard memory as well, so you can save up to four onboard profiles if you need to take the mouse out with you.
The Basilisk’s shape lends itself well to both palm and claw grips, but my hands are on the smaller side, so I naturally found the mouse more comfortable to palm. This is an ergonomic, right-handed mouse, and there is a helpful divot running down the left mouse button that guides your finger into place.
But what really deserves mention is the sniper button on the left, although it’s not really a button at all. Razer calls this a DPI “clutch”, and that’s because it takes the form of a small lever instead of a standard button. I still don’t think sniper buttons are that useful since many FPS games offer dedicated sensitivity settings when scoped in, but if you have use for one, the Basilisk’s implementation is probably among the best out there.
It’s a lever, so it’s a lot easier to press, and it feels less onerous to hold down. One of my biggest complaints with sniper buttons was that they always made it harder to control the mouse at exactly the moment when greater precision was required, and the Basilisk’s design mitigates this somewhat.
One final thing to note is the weight of the mouse. At 107g, this is still a little heavy for a wired mouse, especially one targeted at FPS gamers. Most competitive FPS players prefer something under 100g, so it’s slightly disappointing that Razer would neglect such an important characteristic of an FPS mouse.
